Protective insulation for linemen



May26,1942. RMEVANS 2,284,190

ROTECTIVE INSULATION FOR L IIII EN Patented May 26, 1942 i PaoTaorrvn'iNsULA'rioN-ron LINEMEN;

Russell.M. Evans, Carrollton, Ohio, 'assignorto f The Surety Rubber Company, Carrollto'n, Ohio',

iii-r a'corporation' of' Ohio ApplicationJune 23, 1941,r SerialzNo,--399,254

2 Claims.

The invention relates to insulation for electric t linemen, and more particularly to a complete insulation for the linemen's feet, as well as the climbers ordinarily worn for climbing poles, 'and Means have been provided for insulating the climbers, and even for insulating the side of the lineman's foot next to the pole, andwhile such devices have reduced the hazard to linememyet contact of the outer side of the foot with thepole, or a guy-Wire or live wire thereon may cause a circuit to be completed through the body, resulting. in electrocution.

Consequently it is a primary object of this invention to entirely overcome all such hazards by providing complete insulation for the lineman's feet as well as his climbers, from ,the 'pole and any guy-wires or live wires connected thereto.

Another object is to provide an insulation jacket for the climbers, of the type disclosed in my co-pending application above referred to, in combination with a special type of'overshoe to be worn therewith, so as to completely insulate the feet and legs of the lineman.

A further object is to provide a special type of overshoe having flaps for covering both sides of the lineman's ankle, and held securely in place by the usual foot strap upon the climber.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such a combination insulation jacket and overshoe for entirely insulating the lineman's feet and legs from the climber,

The above objects together with others which will be apparent from the drawing and following description, or which maybe later referred to, may be attained by constructing the improved insulaiton Jacket and overshoe in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a rear elevation of a lineman's leg and foot, showing the mannerA in which the insulation for the climber and the improved overshoe are worn to completely insulate the lineman's foot and leg from the climber;

Fig. 2, a fragmentary inner side elevation of the same; and

Fig. 3, a detached perspective view of the improved overshoe.

Similar tnumerals refer throughout the drawing.

similar parts the present invention is an improvement over my 5 The protective insulation to which the incopending application Serial No. 364,854, filed vention pertains is designed to be applied to a November 8, 1940. lineman's climber of usual and well known form t There is a Constant hazard to linemen when comprising a shank portion Il, having the usual working upon poles, repairing or replacing lines Vstirrup II at its lower end, and provided with the thereon, as should any portion of the lineman's 10 conventional spur |2 adjacent tosaid stirrup.

body come in contact with a live Wire the Circuit The climber is provided with the usual leg will be instantly completed through the linestrap 100p 13 at the upper end of the shank, for man's body, to ground through his feet or connection of the leg strap Id, for attaching the climbers which are necessarily in contact with climber to the linemanfs leg below the knee, in the pole. i 15 usual and ordinary manner, and With the loop |5,

upon the stirrup for connection of the usual ankle strap [6, which is ordinarily located around the lineman's ankle.

The insulation jacket for the climber is the same as disclosed in my co-pending application lSerial No. 364,854, above referred to, and as shown is'formed of a single unit, preferably of pure rubber or other suitable flexible insulation material of proper thickness to effectively insulate the climber 'against such electric crcuits as the lineman may encounter.

This safety jacket is indicated generally at Il and is of tubular shape, preferablyfiat in cross section so as to conform to the shape of the shank Ii] of the climber, the upper end of the jacket being closed as indicated at I 8 and the length of the jacket being such as to extend from the top of the shank to a point near the lower end of the spur |2, as best shown in Figs. l and 2. Thus, the entire shank is enclosed by the insulation jacket from the top to the spur 12. As shown'in Fig. -1 the lower open end of the insulation jacket extends over the greater portion of the spurV |2 and the adjacent portion of the stirrup of the climber, and the rubber is sufficiently resilient to per'mit the jacket' to be stretched thereover as shown in said figure.

In order to accommodate the loop |3, at vthe upper end of the shank portion of 'the climber, the jacket may be slit as indicated at [9 by placing two spaced parallel cuts in the outer side of the jacket so that the intervening web 20 of rubber between said slits may cover the loop 13. In order to completely insulate the lineman's feet and legs from the climbers, heavy rubber overshoes as indicated generally at 2| are worn 2 w i I 'electric circuits as he may encounter inclimbing a pole.

In order to protect the lineman'sankles, heavy rubber fiaps 22 are formed on each side of the overshoe, being integral Vwith or permanently attached thereto at their lower ends and extending up above the top of the overshoe.

These fiaps 22 are bound against the ankle by means of the usual ankle strap IB connectedV to the loop |5 upon the stirrup of the climber. i

With this construction it Will be seen that the i entire feet and legs of the lineman are completely and effectively insulated from all por- I lower end to receive the lineman's foot, and an ankle strap connected to said stirrup, an insulation overshoe for the lineman's foot and insulation flaps upon the sides of the overshoe positioned to be bound against the lineman's ankle t by said ankle strap.

2.In combination with a lineman's climber having a shank portion with a stirrup at itsb lower end to receive the linemanys foot, and a spur upon the-outside of said stirrup, and'an ankle Strap connected to said stirrup, an insula- V tion jacket of tubular form detachably, slidably mounted upon'said shank portion and extending from the upper end thereof to a point near the 15 /end of the spur, an insulation overshoe for the lineman's foot and insulation flaps upon the sides of the overshoe positioned to be bound against the lineman's ankle by said ankle strap.

RUSSELL M. EVANS. 

